You have a small population of beetles. One day a large rainstorm causes flooding and wipes out 87% of the population. The remaining individuals have much lower genetic variation than the original population. Which of the following would explain the lack of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium seen after the flood?
A)founder effect
B)random mating
C)small population size
D)genetic drift
E)migration

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Genetic drift, the random fluctuation of allele frequencies in small populations, is likely to occur after a catastrophic event like a flood that drastically reduces the population size. Since the surviving individuals are only a small fraction of the original population, their genetic makeup may not be representative of the previous population, leading to departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Moreover, genetic drift can reduce genetic variation by eliminating alleles that were rare in the original population, potentially leading to lower heterozygosity in the remaining individuals. None of the other choices is specific to the situation described in the question.

You Have a Small Population of Beetles